Texas Instruments has released a power converter that lets designers build ultra-low-power consumer electronics, bolstering a trend in the industry toward managing power by promoting energy harvesting.

TI said in a press release that the TPS62736 DC/DC step-down converter -- which it calls the lowest-power device of its kind in the industry -- "increases the amount of harvested energy an end application can use as much as 70 percent over alternative devices."

The TPS62736 DC/DC converter "delivers high power conversion efficiency from 10 uA to 50 mA output currents, and consumes only 350 nA of active current and 20 nA during standby," according to TI. "The converter achieves greater than 90 percent efficiency across output currents higher than 15uA." Its regulator "steps down the voltage from a power source, such as a thin-film or regular battery or a super capacitor and features a programmable output voltage."

A graphic displays how Texas Instruments' new ultra-low-power converter harvests energy to help designers create more efficient electronics. The TPS62736 DC/DC step-down converter can be used to create battery-free applications such as wireless sensor networks, monitoring systems, smoke detectors,wearable medical devices, and mobile accessories.(Source: Texas Instruments)

Electronics designers are working to create a new generation of products that run on their own power or very low-power batteries.

"One of the trends in power design (some may call it a 'space race') is to see 'how low can you go' with power management," Niranjan Pathare, business development manager in TI's power management division, told us in an email. "Extracting nano-power energy from the light in a room, from body heat or vibrations in a vehicle is one thing. Managing microwatts to milliwatts of power to operate a smart wireless network or extend battery life is an art."

TI's new converter attempts to be proficient in that art form by allowing designers to develop circuits with the lowest operating power possible to support energy-harvesting designs, Pathare said. "The great news is that this capability will open the door to new applications, such as heart monitors or home health portable electronics, that people haven't even dreamed about yet."

Other researchers are taking energy harvesting in other directions. For example, researchers at the University of Michigan's department of aerospace engineering recently developed technology that can harvest energy from the human heartbeat to power a pacemaker. This could eliminate the need for batteries in the device.

TI is working on other energy-harvesting ideas. This quarter, it plans to launch a chip that will enable electronics to harvest energy from ambient light in a room. At CES this week in Las Vegas, TI is demonstrating a smoke detector developed by Italy's Argus Security that leverages the forthcoming chip, which can extend the life of the device to as much as eight years.

You might want to add another 20 years to your comment. Twenty years ago was 1993, there were many portable devices, even cell phones. When the industry dropped the required voltage from 5V to 3.3V, it is a huge help. Chips are getting even lower these days. Buck/boost circuits are getting efficient unseen in the past. Getting a higher potential from 3.3V is not an issue.

Interesting insight from Nirajan Pathare of TI in this story when he refers to low-power design as a "space race." I agree. Being able to operate everyday devices on lower current is one of the next great frontiers in electronics. Twenty years ago, no one foresaw the rise in handheld computing that's available today, largely because no one imagined that computers could operate at such low power levels. The trend toward low power design is still gaining momentum.

Alternative energy generators for the medical industry are all still in the prototype phase. As you can imagine, there are numerous certifications and near-endless testing to be done. Imagine if the generator stops for some reason.

I really like the idea of harvesting energy from the human heart to keep a pacemaker going. Seems the best example of energy harvesting that I've ever heard of. Changing a pacemaker battery is considered minor surgery, but most pacemaker-users would prefer to find a better method, if possible.

Thanks for the head's up. I have a alternative energy project coming up, not I have a DC controller in mind. I will have to investigate what else they are offering in their alternative energy initiative. I hope they have some system on a chip type products. IE: solar panel to battery hook up. No development on my part. One can dream.

This is great technology and another step forward to more effective portable solutions. It will also be interesting to see the impact on automation and control technologies such as wireless sensor solutions that can really benefit from this kind of technology. This is just another step in the right direction in terms of new capabilities available for device designs.

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